The Style Council
| The Style Council | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| origin | London |
| founding | 1983 |
| resolution | 1990 |
| Founding members | |
Guitar, bass, vocals |
Paul Weller |
Keyboard, piano, vocals |
Mick Talbot |
Drums |
Steve White |
singing |
Dee C Lee |
The Style Council was a British band founded in 1983, which originally consisted only of guitarist and singer Paul Weller and keyboardist Mick Talbot . Soon the drummer Steve White (still musical accompanist of Paul Weller) and the singer Dee C Lee (ex-wife of Paul Weller) joined them. The group was expanded to include more musicians for live performances: primarily bassist Camelle Hinds, percussionist Steve Sidelnyk and Helen Turner on keyboards.
Career
After the release of four studio albums (1984 to 1988; the first release from 1983 is just a single compilation), a live album and a compilation in 1989, the band officially broke up in 1990. Paul Weller started a successful solo career.
Paul Weller formed the band at the height of The Jam's success as he was dissatisfied with their musical direction. He wanted to incorporate more elements of soul , R&B and jazz into his music, which he did not trust the punk-oriented band members of The Jam to perform .
In the mid-eighties, the group was able to land some top 10 hits in Great Britain, some of which also made it into the German charts, namely Speak Like a Child (1983, 4th place in the UK), Long Hot Summer (1983, 3rd place), My Ever Changing Moods (1984, 5th place), You're the Best Thing (1984, 5th place), Shout to the Top (1984, 7th place), Walls Come Tumbling Down (1985, 6th place) and It Didn't Matter (1987, 9th place). The first two studio albums Cafe Bleu (1984, No. 2 in the UK) and Our Favorite Shop (1985, No. 1) were not only successful in the charts, but were also highly praised by critics. The following albums The Cost of Loving (1987, 2nd place in the UK) and in particular Confessions of a Pop Group (1988, 15th place) could not quite build on this commercial success - especially abroad - but were also of high quality.
After a fifth album ( Modernism: A New Decade ) full of - by the standards of the time - quite progressive house music was rejected by the record company Polydor and the contract was terminated by the label, Paul Weller and Mick Talbot separated more or less by force . Nevertheless, other publications followed, such as an album with previously unreleased material in 1993 ( Here's Some That Got Away ) and a second live album in 1997. In 1998 a 5-CD box set came out, which, in addition to the old hits, also contained the previously "lost" fifth studio album.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1983 | Introducing The Style Council | - | - | - |
US172 (5 weeks) US |
First published: 1983
|
| 1984 | Cafe Bleu | - | - |
UK2  (38 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1984
|
| My Ever Changing Moods | - | - | - |
US56 (22 weeks) US |
First published: 1984
|
|
| 1985 | Our Favorite Shop |
DE23 (15 weeks) DE |
AT23 (2 weeks) AT |
UK1 (22 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1985
|
| Internationalists | - | - | - |
US123 (11 weeks) US |
First published: 1985
|
|
| 1986 | Home and Abroad | - | - |
UK8th  (8 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1984
|
| Home & Abroad - Live! |
DE53 (4 weeks) DE |
- | - | - |
First published: 1986
|
|
| 1987 | The Cost Of Loving |
DE45 (4 weeks) DE |
- |
UK2 (7 weeks)UK |
US122 (10 weeks) US |
First published: 1987
|
| 1988 | Confession Of A Pop Group | - | - |
UK15th (3 weeks)UK |
US174 (6 weeks) US |
First published: 1988
|
| 1989 | Singular Adventures Of The Style Council | - | - |
UK3 (15 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1989
|
| 1991 | Headstart for Happiness | - | - | - | - |
First publication: 1991
|
| 1993 | Heres Some That Got Away | - | - |
UK39 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: 1993
|
| 1996 | The Collection | - | - |
UK60 (2 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1996
|
| 1997 | The Style Council in Concert | - | - | - | - |
First release: 1997
live album |
| 1998 | The Complete Adventures Of The Style Council | - | - |
UK100 (1 week) UK |
- |
First release: 1998
box set |
| Modernism: A New Decade | - | - | - | - |
First published: 1998
|
|
| 2000 | Greatest hits | - | - |
UK28 (6 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 2000
|
| 2013 | Classic Album Selection | - | - |
UK67 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: 2013
|
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1983 | Speak Like A Child | - | - |
UK4th (8 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1983
|
| Money Go Round (Part One) | - | - |
UK11 (10 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1983
|
|
| Long Hot Summer / Paris Match | - | - |
UK3 (9 weeks)UK |
- |
First published: 1983
|
|
| A Solid Bond In Your Heart | - | - |
UK11 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1983
|
|
| 1984 | My Ever Changing Moods | - | - |
UK5 (7 weeks) UK |
US29 (14 weeks) US |
First published: 1984
|
| Groovin '(You're The Best Thing / Big Boss Groove) | - | - |
UK5 (9 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1984
|
|
| You're The Best Thing | - | - | - |
US76 (5 weeks) US |
First published: 1984
|
|
| Shout to the top | - | - |
UK7 (10 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1984
|
|
| 1985 | Walls Come Tumbling Down! | - | - |
UK6 (8 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1985
|
| Come to Milton Keynes | - | - |
UK23 (6 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1985
|
|
| The Lodgers | - | - |
UK13 (6 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1985
|
|
| 1986 | Have You Ever Had It Blue | - | - |
UK14 (6 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1986
|
| 1987 | It didn't matter | - | - |
UK9 (5 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1987
|
| Waiting | - | - |
UK52 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1987
|
|
| Wanted | - | - |
UK20 (4 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1987
|
|
| Agent 88 | - | - |
UK100 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: 1987
EP |
|
| 1988 | Live At A Top People's Health Farm | - | - |
UK28 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1988
|
| How She Threw It All Away | - | - |
UK41 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1988
|
|
| 1989 | Promised Land | - | - |
UK27 (5 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1989
|
| Long Hot Summer '89 | - | - |
UK48 (2 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: 1989
|
|
More singles
- 1985: Our Favorite Shop
- 1986: Internationalists